Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony

Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony
Developer(s)	SuperVillain Studios
Publisher(s)	2K Games
Designer(s)	Chris Taylor
Engine	Custom-DS2
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	NA October 30, 2006 EU February 2, 2007 AUS February 2, 2007
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single-player & multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: PG PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	UMD

Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony is a real time computer role-playing game for PlayStation Portable developed by SuperVillain Studios, published by 2K Games and was released in October 2006.

Plot

Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony picks up where Dungeon Siege II for PC left off: after the second cataclysm altered the world of Aranna. A new threat appears out of nowhere, and the player has to choose one of three characters to oppose it. Wild monsters attack elves and humans, with the one behind this menace being known as the Black Druid. The player has to face many different creatures before the Black Druid is located and killed. It turns out that the true enemy are Vagar, a race of corrupted beings of whom Black Druid was a member. They serve their mistress, Malith, once a leader of Agallan giants, now a fallen creature who takes its powers from Throne of Agony. The hero has to defeat Vagar, find the Agallan giants, and ultimately defeat Malith. Finally, the player has to decide what to do with the Throne of Agony, a sentient throne of darkness, as it could be either used, or destroyed.

Characters

• Allister Battle Mage, uses spells and is handy with staffs. Advances to Vile Wizard or White Wizard at Level 30. If you choose Vile Wizard then at Lv.60 you can become either a Lich or a Death Knight. If you choose White Wizard then at Lv.60 you can become either an Archmage or an Arcane Champion.
• Mogrim Warlord, effective in melee attacks but poor in magic skills. Becomes a Runemaster or Berserker in Level 30. If you choose Runemaster then at Lv.60 you can become either a Titan or a Rune Lord. If you choose Berserker then at Lv.60 you can become either a Battle Rager or a Slayer.
• Serin Shadowstalker, uses daggers and is good with bows and is quite fast. In Level 30, she becomes a Ranger or Blademaster. If you choose Ranger then at Lv.60 you can become either a Sniper or a Huntress. If you choose Blademaster then at Lv.60 you can become either a Ninja or a Blood Assassin.

These characters can be customized the way they look, and advancing to the next class only gives the character new abilities. The characters play a different part in the story but the quests are still the same.

Gameplay

Instead of using the mouse like in the original Dungeon Siege games, the player directly controls the character with the analog stick. Players can also choose a partner, making a party of a maximum of two characters, but the partner can be changed (ranged, magic, melee). A friend can join in ad-hoc play between two PlayStation Portable consoles, forming a party of up to four characters (two characters and two followers). Enemies are much more scattered throughout the map rather than having several enemies in one screen at the same time like in Dungeon Siege II.

Features

• Three characters, customizable as they level up.
• Wireless multiplayer co-op gameplay
• Players can unlock exclusive items using codes provided on Dungeon Siege II: Broken World PC game.
• Pets and companions can follow the player.
• Roughly fifteen hours of gameplay, with two levels of difficulty.
• Over a hundred spells and abilities.

Development

A console based Dungeon Siege game was planned by Gas Powered Games since 2003. The project named Dungeon Siege X was originally planned for Xbox and expected release simultaneously with Dungeon Siege II. The project slowed down and was eventually canceled. In 2006, Gas Powered ended the publishing rights with Microsoft Game Studios and signed with 2K Games. The project was resurrected by 2K and finally announced for PSP alongside Dungeon Siege II: Broken World expansion for PC. It was developed by SuperVillain Studios.

Reception

This game received mostly positive reviews and has been called a great hack and slash.^{[citation needed]}

Name

Possibly named after the foetus song "The Throne of Agony" on the Nail album.

External links

• Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony Official Site